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Ohio governor's race 2018: What the money tells us

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has a more-than $10.5 million war chest for the GOP primary, forcing his competitor Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor to loan her campaign $3 million.
And Democrat Rich Cordray can raise money – much to his party's delight and relief.

Ohio governor's race 2018: What the money tells us

Who wants to be Ohio's next governor? Many Ohio politicians are interested in the job.
Wochit

Ohio Attorney General and former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, right, shakes hands with Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, left, during a news conference at the University of Dayton to announce their decision to share the ticket in their bid for the Ohio governorship, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)(Photo: John Minchillo, AP)

COLUMBUS - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has a more-than $10.5 million war chest for the GOP primary, leading his competitor Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor to loan her campaign $3 million.

And Democrat Rich Cordray showed he can raise a lot of money quickly – much to his party's delight and relief.

Campaign finance reports filed Wednesday, which detailed the second half of 2017 through January, showed DeWine leading the gubernatorial pack with $10.5 million. Taylor and her running mate, Cincinnati's Nathan Estruth, loaned their campaign $3 million and $250,000 respectively to stay competitive.

"They are committed to this race and have invested of themselves, in every way possible, because they know the people of Ohio deserve better," the Taylor campaign said in a release.

DeWine has raised just under $2 million since August. He had some help from Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, who transferred about $4.6 million from his gubernatorial campaign account when he dropped out to become DeWine's running mate.

Some of that money, about $111,000, came from former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, his former competitor turned running mate. Other big donations came from unions, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley's campaign and a pro-Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley political action committee.

Other candidates, including Sutton last year, appeared promising on paper when it came to fundraising but didn't report big numbers.

Former state Rep. Connie Pillich, of Montgomery, lost her status as the top Democratic fundraiser in the governor's race. Still, she had a more than $911,000 balance. State Sen. Joe Schiavoni had more than $276,000.

Two candidates remain question marks. Former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill, both Democrats, were not required to file fundraising details Wednesday. Both designated treasurers to kick off their campaigns in January.

U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci dropped out of the governor's race to run for U.S. Senate. But he was relying mostly on $6.7 million in personal loans to remain competitive. Renacci raised just $353,490 in the second half of 2017. He'll need more than that to beat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Candidates are running to replace term-limited GOP Gov. John Kasich. The primary is May 8.

Statewide races

Democrats raised more than their GOP competitors in races for attorney general, state auditor, secretary of state and state treasurer, according to filings from the second half of the year. But Republicans still had more cash in their balance in those races.

Democratic attorney general candidate Steve Dettelbach raised more than $1 million in the second half of 2017.